[NEohioPAL]PRESS RELEASE: New World Performance Laboratory at CPT Nov. 4 - 13, 2004

[Dan Kilbane]

For Immediate Release							October 2, 2004
Contact: James Slowiak
Co-Artistic Director
(330)867-3299
nwpl at lycos.com <mailto:nwpl at lycos.com>
promotional photos available by request

NEW WORLD PERFORMANCE LABORATORY IN
RESIDENCE AT CPT
Genet’s Deathwatch and New Cabaret Piece Receive Cleveland Premieres

November 4 - November 13, 2004

CLEVELAND, OH -The New World Performance Laboratory, Northeast Ohio’s own
world-class alternative theatre company, will be in residence at Cleveland
Public Theatre from November 4 through November 13, 2004. NWPL will present
two performances in repertory:  Jean Genet’s Deathwatch and Stairway to
Paradise (A Cabaret Soul Journey), in the Parish Hall next to CPT’s Gordon
Square Theatre.  For information on all events contact CPT at 216-631-2727
or call NWPL at 330-867-3299.

New World Performance Lab presents Deathwatch by Jean Genet, one of the 20th
century’s most controversial and important playwrights.  NWPL’s production
is directed by NWPL artistic director, James Slowiak, and features Jairo
Cuesta, a Colombian actor and co-director of the company, as well as NWPL
apprentices Chris Buck and Justin Hale.  Deathwatch is Genet's first play,
rewritten shortly before his death in 1986.  It tells the story of three
prisoners locked in a sacrificial rite of passage from division to
wholeness.  The play promises to be an intimate and intense experience that
demonstrates the company's unique physical acting style, which has won them
acclaim on four continents.  Performances are in the Parish Hall and seating
will be limited.  Performance dates and times are November 4,5,6,13 at 8pm;
November 7 at 7pm; November 12 at 10:30pm.  Ticket prices are $12 -- $15.
For reservations call 216-631-2727.

In repertory with Deathwatch will be Stairway to Paradise (A Cabaret Soul
Journey), featuring NWPL apprentice Megan Elk singing from the songbooks of
Arlen, Berlin, Gershwin and Weill. Megan weaves story and song in a way that
links the sacred to the profane, the soul to the body, the Jewish experience
to American popular song.  Stairway to Paradise is a musical journey
backward, inward, and finally forward.  Vocalist Megan Elk is accompanied by
percussionist Ronald Martin and directed by James Slowiak.  Performances are
in the Parish Hall and seating will be limited.  Performance dates and times
are November 5 and 13 at 10:30 pm; November 7 at 3pm; November 11, 12 at
8pm.  Ticket prices are $12 -- $15.  For reservations call  216-631-2727.

New World Performance Laboratory History and Mission Statement

New World Performance Laboratory’s mission is to create theatre events and
pedagogical programs, to research performance techniques from around the
world, and to develop a contemporary performance methodology for culturally
diverse theatre artists.

The New World Performance Laboratory (NWPL), under the artistic direction of
James Slowiak and Jairo Cuesta, is an evolving community of theatre artists.
The company's work has been featured in The Drama Review, Grotowski's
Objective Drama Research by Lisa Wolford, and The Grotowski Sourcebook,
edited by Richard Schechner and Lisa Wolford.  Since 1992, NWPL performances
have included Love in the Time of Lunatics (2002), Electra (2001),
HamletMachine (2000-2001), Woyzeck (1998-99), I Dreamed of Rats (1997-1998),
The Book of Saints and Martyrs (1995-97), Mother's Work (1992-94), and The
Dybbuk (1993). The Lab has toured its performances and conducted numerous
workshops in Italy, Poland, France, Belgium, Bulgaria, Lebanon, Romania,
Brazil, Colombia, and various cities in the USA, including Chicago and New
York.


New World Performance Laboratory Bios

James Slowiak (co-artistic director) is currently Professor of Theatre at
The University of Akron in Ohio. From 1983 to 1989, Mr. Slowiak served as
Assistant to Jerzy Grotowski in all facets of the Focused Research Program
in Objective Drama at the University of California-Irvine and at the
Workcenter of Jerzy Grotowski in Pontedera, Italy.  Mr. Slowiak's work in
collaboration with Grotowski is the subject of an article in the spring 1991
issue of The Drama Review and is discussed in the book At Work with
Grotowski on Physical Actions by Thomas Richards (Routledge, 1995).

Mr. Slowiak received his MFA in Directing from the University of
California-Irvine and a BA in
Anthropology, French, and Dramatic Arts from Macalester College.  He
co-founded and was Artistic Director of At Random Theatre Ensemble in St.
Paul, Minnesota (1978-1982).  He has directed more than fifty theatre events
and has conducted numerous workshops in Europe, Asia, and the Americas.  For
NWPL, Mr. Slowiak has directed The Ancients, Mother's Work, Epiphany I,
Veredas, The Book of Saints and Martyrs, Essential Demonstrations, Woyzeck
(Fragments of a Morality Play as Performed by the Prodigies of Dr. Somnus'
Freak Show), HamletMachine, Electra, Love in the Time of Lunatics, and
Winesburg, Ohio.

Jairo Cuesta (co-artistic director) is a Colombian actor and director.  He
collaborated with Jerzy Grotowski in the Theatre of Sources and the
Objective Drama Program from 1976 to 1986, working in Poland, France, Italy,
Mexico, Haiti, and the USA.  He participated in preliminary workshops for
The Mahabarata in Paris, under the direction of Peter Brook.  Mr. Cuesta has
been a guest artist at The University of Paris; the University of
California-Irvine; The Colorado College; Eckerd College; Case Western
Reserve University; and The University of Akron, where he directed Samuel
Beckett's Endgame.  Mr. Cuesta has conducted numerous workshops in
Performance Ecology and actor training techniques around the world.  He has
performed with Teatro Libre in Bogota, Colombia, and co-directed (with James
Slowiak) Moliere's The Misanthrope.  For NWPL, Mr. Cuesta has directed The
Dybbuk and has performed in Mothers Work, The Recital of the Bird, Epiphany
I, The Phantoms of King Lear, The Book of Saints and Martyrs, Woyzeck,
Electra, and HamletMachine, and Love in the Time of Lunatics.


New World Performance Laboratory Fact Sheet
Production
Deathwatch by Jean Genet

Performed in repertory with Stairway to Paradise (A Cabaret Soul Journey)

Artistic Staff
Director, James Slowiak
Stage Management, Jamie Gale Russell

Cast
Green Eyes:  Jairo Cuesta
Maurice:  Christopher Buck
Lefranc:  Justin Hale

Performance Dates and Times

Opening 		Thursday, November 4, 2004				8:00 p.m.
Closing			Saturday, November 13, 2004				8:00 p.m.
Run			November 4, 5, 6, 13 					8:00 p.m.
			November 7						7:00 p.m.
			November 12						10:30 p.m.
Times			Sunday, November 7 at 7:00 p.m.
Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00 p.m. (except Friday, November 12,
at 10:30 p.m.)

Ticket Prices
Friday and Saturdays $15
Thursdays and Sundays  $12

Reservations and information
216/631-2727 or 330/867-3299

Location
Cleveland Public Theatre’s Parish Hall
6415 Detroit Avenue

www.cptonline.org <http://www.cptonline.org>
www.nwplab.org <http://www.nwplab.org>


New World Performance Laboratory Fact Sheet
Production
Stairway to Paradise (A Cabaret Soul Journey)

Performed in repertory with Deathwatch by Jean Genet

Artistic Staff
Director, James Slowiak
Stage Management, Jamie Gale Russell

Cast
Megan Elk:  The Singer
Ronald Martin:  Percussionist

Performance Dates and Times

Opening 		Friday, November 5, 2004					10:30 p.m.
Closing			Saturday, November 13, 2004				10:30 p.m.
Run			November 5,13 						10:30 p.m.
			November 7						3:00 p.m.
			November 11, 12						8:00 p.m.
Times			Sunday, November 7 at 3:00 p.m.
Friday, November 5 and Saturday, November 13 at 10:30 p.m
Thursday, November 11 and Friday, November 12 at 8:00 p.m.

Ticket Prices
Friday and Saturdays $15
Thursdays and Sundays  $12

Reservations and information
216/631-2727 or 330/867-3299

Location
Cleveland Public Theatre’s Parish Hall
6415 Detroit Avennue

www.cptonline.org <http://www.cptonline.org>
www.nwplab.org <http://www.nwplab.org>